Alonzo lambert



(No Model.)

A. LAMBERT.

STATION INDICATOR.

No. 524,421. Patented Aug. 14, 1894.

WwwN Hf. //A//////// TME Nonms PETERS co. Moro-umm wAsHlNurou. D. c.

35 plates'to view, the same operations being repeated in the reverse direction YUNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE..

ALONZO LAMBERT, OE BROOKLYN, AssIcNOR TO J. R. BOWDEN a co., OF t y NEW YORK, N. Y.

STATION-INDICATOR.

` SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 524,421, dated August .14,1894. Application iiled April 30, 1894. Serial No. 509.439. (No model.)

The object of my invention is to avoid the necessity and annoyance of brakemen or railway employs calling out stations, which are frequently either not heard or are misunder- 1 stood, and at the Sametime to provide a ready means by which' railway passengers can `ascertain the name of the station which the train is approaching.V

In carryin'g out my invention device that is secured Within the railway car centrally underneath the roof thereof, the same being operated by a stationary arm or similar device outside of and independent of thetrain, which arm comes in contact as the trainv moves with an arm that extends out from the railway car and that operates a series of name plates. These nameplates are in a movable carriage and are successively brought into View beneath the main holding case and are lettered On both surfaces and can bessen through glass plates from either end portion of the car.

My improved'device Works with equal facilityin either direction of motion of the train, there being suiicient name plates in the movable carriage for each and all of the stations 4 of the route, it requiring the entire length of travel to successively expose allthe name as the train returns over the route.

In the drawings,`Figure l is a vertical longitudinal section at the line m mof Fig. 2, illustrating my improvements, Fig.`2 is a vertical section of the same at the line y y of Fig. 1 and'Fig.y 3 is a detached View of the grooves and spring blades.

I have represented by dotted lines in Fig. 2 the top portion of a car with brackets for supporting the case a, which case is like a Iongfcoverless boxthat is supported in the upper part ofthe car and usually central of `its length; Within this case and on opposite sides are horizontal slideways a and I may I employ a in the respective ends of the case ct.

employ vertical side plates a2. Upon opposite sides in the body of the case andthrough the side plates a2 are central grooves 2 and inclined grooves 3 It and spring blades 5` 6 are connected to the respective sides adjacent to the grooves 2 and extend partially over the surface of the s lidewaysu/ covering over the entrance to the grooves 3 4 but leaving the central grooves 2 open and free. Depending from the bottom of this case is a V-shaped portion b in Whose opposite faces are glass plates b. Inside the case a is a movable carriage c with sides and endsA only, and in` the sides thereof are equidistant vertical slots c. The rack CZ extends along the top of this movable carriage c and the teeth of said rack correspond in position to the slots c', there being as many rack teeth as there are pairs of slots, and a guide bar f extends over the top of the carriage c and the ends thereof are seculrleld e office of this guide bar is to prevent the can riage o rising at either end as moved alongby the movement of the other parts.

e represents the name plates along whose upper edges are suspending rods e. These name plates may be of any material and are preferably lettered on their opposite faces with the names of the stations along the line of railway, the name 0f the station appearing` on both sides of the plate. y These name plates are slightly less in widththan the width of the carriage o, and the rods e along the top edges thereof extend through` the slots c and are long enough to rest upon the edges ofthe slide'ways a. Y

A shaft h extends through and acrossbetween the raised central portion of the oase,'

and I prefer to employ a sleeve h around said shaft, and a head t' is connected to said sleeve, and pawls 7c 7c working in opposite directions are pivoted in a groove in the lower part of 'said head, and around said sleeve h are helical springs ZZ working in opposite directions, and connected to said head i is a cross bar m which is long enough to extend out laterally through the top of the car and over the roof, and with the movement of the train this arm comes in contact with any stationary point such as n shown in Fig. l by dotted lines. This may be the arm of a post along the track IOO or an arm projecting from the roof of a station, and when the cross bar m comes in contact with such stationary point, said cross bar and head are rocked upon the shaft h to bring one 'of the pawls k or k into engagement with one the otherrdirection.

The movement of the name plates is effected as follows: The direction of travel of the car is shown by the arrow in Fig. l and in this View the name plates to the left of the center are upon the slideways a and upon the spring blades 5, the center name plate having been dropped is exposed and the first name plate on the right has been partially. raised and the next one is in position upon the slideway a. With the next movement of the carriage c the slots therein raise the central name plate partially up in the stationary grooves of the case to the position of the rst name plate to the right and vraise the rst name plate to the right entirely up onto the slideway a', its projecting rods passing from beneath the spring blades 6 out onto the slideway in said move ment, and the first name plate to the left whose arms are on the spring blade 5 passes forward and drops by gravity down into the V-shaped part b where the name of the 'station on its two surfaces canbe seen through the glass faces from either direction. With the further movement of the parts this name plate is raised and the next one dropped, and so on during the movement of the train to the end of its route, these operations being repeated progressively in the opposite direction as the train moves on its return. These movements are entirely automatic and require no attention on the part of the railroad employs, and the parts are exceedingly simple and are not liable to get out of order, and while in the-drawings only a few name plates are shown, it is obvious that any number may be employed, the carriage c and the outer case a. being of sufficient length to contain .any desired number of station name plates.

I claim as my invention- 1. In a station indicator, the combination with a stationary case, of a movable carriage having vertical slots in the sidesthereof, name plates with rods along their upper edges projecting through said slots, means for supporting said name plates at the ends of said rods,

a rack upon the carriage, a stationary device independent of the train, and means acted upon thereby for moving the rack, the carriage and the naine plates, substantially as set forth.

2. In a station indicator, the combination with a stationary case having slideways and vertical and inclined grooves in the respective opposite inner faces thereof, of a movable carriage having equidistant vertical slots in the opposite sides thereof, name plates extending across said carriage with rods along their top edges whose respective ends extend through said slots and upon the slideways and into the grooves of the stationary case, a rack along the top of the carriage having teeth, pawls for operating upon the teeth of the rack; in opposite directions, a head to Which said pawls are connected, and a stationary device outside of the train for eifecting the movement of the pawls and carriage, substantially as set forth.

Y 3. In a station indicator, the combination with a f stationary case, a movable carriage and name plates, of a rack along the top of the movable carriage, a head and pawls connected therewith and a shaft upon which the head is mounted,a Vcross bar connected to said head and extending out through the top of the car and adapted to be'engaged by a stationary device, and springs for maintainingl the head vertically independent of the direction of movement, substantially as set forth.

4. In a station indicator, the combination with a iixed case, a movable carriage and name plates, of a rack along the top of the movable carriage, a shaft h extending across the case, a head z' and sleeve h connected together and mounted on said shaft, helical springsl Z surrounding the sleeve and connected to operate in opposite directions, a cross bar m connected to the head e and adapted to be operated by engagement with a stationary device outside of the car, and pawls 7c lc connected to the head and acting upon the teeth of the rack to eect the longitudinal movement of t-he carriage, substantially asset forth.

5. In a station indicator, the combination with a fixed case, a movable carriage and name plates, of a rack along the top of the movable carriage whose teeth are in the same vertical plane as the name plates, and a bar f fixed within the stationary case and acting as a guide to the movable carriage, a shaft 7i, extending across the case, a head t' and sleeve h connected together and mounted on said shaft, helical springs Z Z surrounding the sleeve and connected to operate in opposite directions, a cross bar fm connected to the head i and adapted to be operated by engagement with a stationary device outside of the car, and pawls lc Zr. connected to the head and adapted to operate the teeth of the rack to effect the longitudinal movement of the carriage, substantially as set-forth.

6.` In a station indicator, the combination with a fixed case a having slideways a', the central grooves 2, inclined grooves 3 4 and spring blades 5 6 Within and upon opposite sides of the same, of a carriage c having equi- IOO IIO

IZO

distant vertical slots in the opposite sidesy thereof, name plates e agreeing in number with said slots and having rods e along their top edges whose ends project through said slots and are adapted to rest upon said slideways or to move through the grooves 2 3 4, a rack along the top of the carriage c, and means substantially as specified for imparting to said carriage a progressive step by step motion whereby the name plates are operated and alternately exposed to View, said name plates being elevated through the grooves 3 4 and dropped into position through the grooves 2, the rods c of said name plates riding over the blades 5 6 before dropping down the grooves 2, and coming up beneath said spring blades onto the horizontal slideways, substantially as set forth.

7. In a station indicator, the combination with a fixed case a having -slideways a', central grooves 2 inclined grooves 3 4 and spring blades 5 6 Within and upon opposite sides of the same, and a V-shaped depending part Zn with glass faces b in its opposite sides, of a carriage c having equidistant vertical slots `in the opposite sides thereof, naine plates e agreeing in number with said slots and having rods e' along their top edges whose ends project through said slots and are adapted to rest upon said slideways er to move through the grooves 2 3 4, a rack along the top of the carriage c, and means substantially as speciiied for imparting lto said carriage a progressive step by step motion whereby the name plates are operated and alternately exposed to view, said naine plates being elevated through the grooves 3 4 and dropped into position through the grooves 2, the rods e of said name plates riding over the blades 5 6 before `dropping down the grooves 2, and coming up beneath said spring blades onto the horizontal slideways, substantially as and for the purposes lset forth.

Signed by me this th day of April, A. D. 1894.

ALONZO LAMBERT. 

